Abstract
An effluent sample was collected from the acid bath of a metal engraving plant where the sample had been pretreated with lime to pH 10.6. The sample was adjusted to pH 7.37 (and in a second test to 7.25) and diluted to a series of solutions using hard, standard water. The seed germination thod was employed to test the phytotoxicity of the sample to ten plant species. The experimental results of this study compared to previous studies indicated that cabbage, carrot, Japanese millet, oat, and wheat lost some viability during storage. The germination rates of these species fell below 85% in this study, although the rates of cabbage, Japanese millet, and wheat were above 85% in the previous studies. Of the remaining species with adequate germination rates, cucumber and white proso millet were relatively insensitive to the effluent toxicity. The promising candidates for toxicity testing were rice, lettuce, and tomato, based on long shelf life, high germination rate and sensitivity to toxicity.
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Wang, W., Keturi, P.H. Comparative seed germination tests using ten plant species for toxicity assessment of a metal engraving effluent sample. Water Air Soil Pollut 52, 369–376 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229444
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00229444